REACH appointed the regulation concerning the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemical substances, as well as the restrictions applicable to these substances, (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), entered into effect the 1st June 2007 with the aim of streamlining and improving the former legislative framework of the European Union, (EU), with regards to chemical substances.
The aims of REACH are as follows:
- Better protect human health and the environment faced with the risks that chemical substances could pose;
- Strengthen the competitiveness of the European chemical industry, that constitutes a key sector of the UE economy;
- Promote alternative methods of evaluation for dangerous substances;
- Guarantee the free movement of substances on the interior market of the European Union.